We sure waited a long time for our baby Freedom to be born! After a very long mare watch with round the clock checking on Jasmine for signs of labor, one glance at the baby monitor on April 13th in the middle of the night, brought the long mare watch to an end. Baby Freedom was born quickly and uneventfully. We had wondered if Jasmine would be pregnant with twins, but instead it was just one BIG, long legged baby Freedom! His legs are so long, they are the length of Jasmine's! He stood up faster than most babies and was trotting around the 12x20 stall within his first 20 minutes of his birth. Freedom is inquisitive, friendly, bold and loves attention. He is high energy and thinks humans are his play toys. He is such a delight! He is tasting his entire environment, including tasting us! We are calling Freedom our land shark. Lol. He loves to play chase and loves hugs and scratches. He is growing like a weed! Today, 6-6-2021, Freedom received his first hoof trim! The little ball of energy had been imprinted at birth so he was used to having his hooves picked up and worked on, but he did not want to stand still. Lol. We sure are enjoying him!
On July 5th, not so little Freedom joined the rest of the miniature horses herd. He was so excited, he didn't know what to do with himself! Lol! He immediately decided he was going to be herd leader and started separating the herd. He was rearing and striking and acting like a stallion at just 4 months old! After a few days of watching Freedom's stallion antics, we made the decision to have Freedom castrated early. We took Freedom to Elgin Equine Hospital on the day we picked up baby Wonder and Lilac from the hospital. Freedom took his first trailer ride alone and wasn't the least bit fearful. He came off the trailer at the hospital like he ruled the world. He walked right onto the dark hallways and past all the stalls prancing and acting like he had been there many times before. Not a thing scared Freedom. He made us laugh each time the stable hands would walk the fancy racehorse stallions past us. Freedom would rear up at them and squeal, and frighten the big racehorses! They weren't sure what Freedom was! Freedom's castration surgery was quick and he did great. He is now a precious gelding who is much calmer and gets along with everyone peacefully. At only 4 months old, Freedom is the biggest mini we have, and is probably a Welsh pony/miniature horse cross. He is weaning himself naturally, making it easier on Jasmine and us. Jasmine still watches over her baby boy closely, he never leaves her sight. Jasmine is a great mom.
Wonderful Freedom is enjoying his life here at the rescue. His best friends are Freesia, Iris, Tinkerbell and Sweet Pea.
